When Is the NFL Playoffs Start?

The NFL playoffs are set to begin on January 9th. Here’s a look at the schedule and what you need to know.

Introduction

The National Football League (NFL) regular season typically runs from early September to late December, with each team playing 16 games over a 17-week period. After the conclusion of the regular season, six teams from each conference (four division winners and two wild card teams) advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, which is usually held in early February.

The NFL Playoffs Format

The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. There are four rounds of play in the NFL playoffs. The Wild Card Round, Divisional Round, Conference Championships, and Super Bowl.

The NFL Playoffs Bracket

The NFL Playoffs are not like other sports playoffs.The NHL, MLB, and NBA all have a best of seven series in their playoff format while the NFL has a single elimination tournament. The NFL Playoffs start with four teams in each conference playing each other in the Wild Card round. The winner of each game advances to the divisional round where they play one of the top two seeded teams in their conference. The winners of those games advance to the Conference Championships and finally the Super Bowl.

The NFL Playoffs bracket is always changing and is never set in stone until all the games have been played. The NFL Playoff schedule is also always subject to change depending on how the regular season goes.

The NFL Playoffs start on Wild Card weekend which is always on a Saturday and Sunday. The divisional round games are played on a Saturday and Sunday with the Conference Championships being played on Sunday afternoon. The Super Bowl is always played on a Sunday afternoon.

This year, the NFL Playoffs start on Saturday, January 6th with the Wild Card round games. The divisional round games will be played on Saturday, January 13th and Sunday, January 14th. The Conference Championships will be played on Sunday, January 21st. Finally, the Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, February 4th.

The NFL Playoffs Schedule

The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Seven teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs. A variety of seeding systems have been used since the NFL began holding playoffs in 1933, when the league consisted of just two divisions.

The tournament brackets are made up of six rounds, Wild Card weekend being the first and the Super Bowl being the last. In each round, the higher-seeded team is given home-field advantage, meaning they will host each game up until and including the conference championship games, and if they advance to the Super Bowl, they will also host that game.

In 2014, a new wrinkle was added to give even more teams a chance to make it to the playoffs. Now, in addition to the four division winners and two wild card teams from each conference, there is also a third wild card team. This team is determined by taking the two remaining clubs with the best records, regardless of divisional alignment, and giving them a spot in the postseason. The only requirement is that this third wild card team must have a better record than any other team in their conference that did not win their division or earn one of the first twowild card spots.

How the NFL Playoffs Work

The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League (NFL) regular season to determine the NFL champion. Wild card playoffs are held the weekend of January 4–5, while the divisional playoffs are held the following weekend, January 11–12. The conference championships are held on January 18.

The NFL Playoffs Seeding

The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League (NFL) regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a tie-breaking procedure exists in the case of equal records. The tournament culminates in the Super Bowl, played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.

The NFL playoff system has changed over the years. As late as 1966, only four teams qualified for the tournament; from 1967 through 1977, eight teams played in what was then called “the Super Bowl tournament”. In 1978, six teams were authorized by league owners to play in what became known as “the Super Bowl playoffs”, bringing the total number of participating teams to 14. The top three seeds hosted first-round games. The ninth through 12th seeds were required to play on Wild Card Weekend, while seeds one through eight received a bye that allowed them to rest during that weekend.

The NFL Playoffs Tiebreakers

The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League’s regular season to determine the league’s champion. Six teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a tie-breaking system is used to seed the teams within their conferences.

The tournament culminates in the Super Bowl, which is usually held in February and is played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.

The NFL playoffs are not based on a simple bracket system. In fact, there are multiple scenarios that could play out, depending on how the regular season shakes out.

The four division winners in each conference are seeded 1-4 based on their record, with the top seed getting home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The two wild card teams in each conference are seeded 5-6 and must play on the road in the first round.

If two or more teams are tied in terms of record, a number of tiebreakers are used to determine seedings and playoff berths. These tiebreakers can get quite complicated, but here’s a quick overview:

– Head-to-head record: If two teams have played each other during the regular season and have identical records, the team with the better head-to-head record will get the higher seed.
– Division record: If two teams are tied for first place in their division (or for a wild card spot), their records within the division are compared. The team with the better division record will get the higher seed.
common opponents: If two teams have identical records and haven’t played each other during the season, their records against common opponents are compared. The team with better record against those opponents will get higher seed. strength of victory: If all of tiebreakers above don’t break a tie, then playoff spots will be determined by calculating each team’s “strength of victory.” This metric measures how good each team’s opponents were during then season; basically, it’s a measure of how tough someone’s schedule was. The team with higher strength of victory will get higher seed (and home field advantage if they’re tied for a division title).

Conclusion

The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League (NFL)’s regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a tie-breaking procedure exists in the case of equal records. The tournament culminates in the Super Bowl, played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.

The NFL playoffs are not conducted in a conventional bracketed format; unlike Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, and National Hockey League playoffs, in which each team is assured of playing at least two playoff games (one at home), there is no minimum number of games that a team must win to be eligible for the Super Bowl. In fact, since 2010, when the playoff field was first expanded to twelve teams (six from each conference), only one team has played just two games on their way to becoming Super Bowl champions—the Green Bay Packers in 2010, who qualified for and won that year’s NFC Championship Game via a Wild Card berth. Whereas nearly 50% of all MLB and NHL teams advance to their respective league’s postseason tournament (16 out of 30 for baseball’s MLB and 16 out 16 for hockey’s NHL), only 38% of all NFL teams have earned a playoff berth since 1993 when Wayne Beyda monitored this data (28 out of 74).